“I see no place for the federal government in education,” said Walberg, who is running for his former seat in Congress he lost to Democrat Mark Schauer in 2008.

Walberg has also said he supports dismantling the federal Department of Education, something Republicans have been saying since President Carter made it a cabinet position.

But the way he worded it this time, which can be seen in the video below, MDP Chairman Mark Brewer said in a statement that; "Removing the federal government from education would cut programming for students with disabilities, dismantle Head Start, eliminate Pell grants and make student loans even more expensive for college students."

When we asked the campaign specifically if Walberg did in fact mean he is in favor of making those cuts laid out by the Democrats, they did not answer that question directly. Walberg did provide a written statement on education.

"I favor empowering families, teachers and local school boards, while Mark Schauer wants everything from education to health care run by bureaucrats in Washington," Walberg wrote. "By eliminating the federal Department of Education, we could save money, reduce the Washington bureaucracy and leave more resources at the local level to teach students."

The Schauer campaign said Walberg's stance is extreme.

"You don't need a Ph.D to understand how disastrous this would be for our economy," Schauer's campaign spokesman Zack Pohl wrote in a statement. "While China and India are investing heavily in education, Tim Walberg wants to take away our competitive edge by disinvesting from Head Start, higher education, and worker retraining programs. Walberg's message to teachers, parents and students is clear - when it comes to education, you're on your own."